Director, The Faraday Institution

The Faraday Institution is a new independent research institute backed with an initial £80m of funding and responsible for building the status of the United Kingdom as a global leader in battery research and technology. Chaired by Professor Peter Littlewood FRS, formerly Director of the Argonne National Laboratory, USA, the Institution will bring together insight and expertise from universities, industry and government to commission and accelerate leading-edge research.

The Institution is launching four major interdisciplinary and multi-institution research projects tackling critical issues in battery and energy storage technologies, with further projects to follow. In parallel with its research, the Institution has an important national role to co-ordinate training in battery science, working in collaboration with our industrial partners. Additionally, there will be outreach activities to excite, broaden and diversify the community of future battery scientists and technologists.

The new Director’s mission is to make The Faraday Institution the pre-eminent voice on battery technologies in the UK and ensure its research projects deliver benefits for the British economy plus the environment worldwide. The Director will build a high-performing organisation, taking it from a start-up with a small central team based at newly-built offices in Harwell to one that funds the work of over 100 researchers based at British universities and other research-sector bodies.

Candidates must have demonstrable knowledge of the science, engineering, economics and social benefits of batteries in particular, plus other energy storage technologies. The Director needs to engage with leaders in academia, industry and government, so should be well-connected already within the international automotive and/or battery technology sectors. They must have gravitas, strong presentation skills, and build an agile, results-focused team that gets the Institution recognised as the UK’s go-to authority on battery research and technology.

For further details and to apply please email faraday@heidrick.com with your CV plus a covering letter explaining your suitability for the role.